


priorities

by drelfina



Series: Wei AU [13]
Category: San Guo Yan Yi | Romance of the Three Kingdoms - All Media Types, 声入人心 | Super-Vocal (TV)
Genre: AU of an AU, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Crack, Death Threats, Deus Ex Machina, F/M, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Unrequited Crush, Wei Wu Shu, au colliding, crack except for when it's not crack, i don't know yet, is this canon?, my sense of humour, one country three nations, recursive AU, sanguo au but modern, wei AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29330190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drelfina/pseuds/drelfina
Summary: Wang Xi wakes up in a new place.How he reacts is entirely due to the choices he'd made, once, a long time ago.AKAHow does whether one is an Alpha or an omega actually define your choices?
Relationships: Gao Yang/Wang Xi | Elvis, Jin Yanzhu/Wang Xi | Elvis, Wang Xi/Cao Jie - Relationship
Series: Wei AU [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1833172
Comments: 21
Kudos: 6





	priorities

**Author's Note:**

> So this was _meant_ to be crack... except it didn't turn out to be crack. 
> 
> But i wanted to write it and then post it so I felt that since the week has been rather shit, I wanted to have a nice serotonin burst.

Wang Xi was used to waking up in strange places. 

Strange scents, strange noises. 

So he didn't lash straight out instantly, when the scent that hit him was unfamiliar. 

It took a while to parse - it smelled a lot like chemicals: the mash up of a half a dozen kinds of scent blockers, something like powders and waxes, and the sharp, penetrating stab of hair dyes and bleach. And, underneath all that, was the lingering scent of yet more masculinity, Alphas and betas alike. 

It in fact, smelled like one of the backstage prep-rooms for one of Da Long's performance venues. Why on earth would Ziwei want to leave him _here_? 

He kept his ears open; there was no other noise except the hum of a rather new HVAC system, and the buzz of electric fixtures - lights, he thought. 

No one else right now. 

It didn't exclude surveillance but… 

He allowed himself to open his eyes, shifting very carefully and realised. 

He was alone, yes, and just. Himself. 

There was no scent of his husband _anywhere_.

Well that just got his heart rate slamming _up_. 

No matter where he woke up, no matter how different and far away it was from where he'd gone to sleep prior, his husband always left something nearby, some article of clothing inundated with her scent, so that he'd _know_ that it was a safe space to let his guard down in. 

That it was where _she_ had left him, needed him to be. 

He kept his motions small, sluggish, highly aware that just because there might be no one else physically present, didn't mean he was unmonitored. 

He was on a couch. He carefully swung his legs off the couch to sit up. Took in the whole room. 

He was right - it looked like the make-up, prep room that littered the backstage of all those concert halls that were everywhere now in Wu. Much bigger and brighter than the ones in Gazi's backstage, which had his hackles up. 

Not in Wei? Perhaps? 

Big enough that they could fit ten performers at a time, with maybe one or two make-up artists at a time; and the strong chemical smell was almost definitely hair products - he could see all those bottles and canisters, hairdryers. 

Wang Xi carefully reached down to palm his phone, stopped. 

If he was here, alone… with a possibility that he was _not_ in Wei, without his husband's permission…

Had the worst come to pass? He had kept a low-profile - his family had only said that his husband had moved out of the city, and Ziwei made sure no one from outside of their organization ever laid eyes on Wang Xi unless absolutely necessary. 

Wang Xi let his gaze cut to around him - even with his trained paranoia and care, he couldn't help but _hope_ that Ziwei had left something near him anyway, anything to signify that he was here with her authority and permission - but the couch was otherwise bare, and there was no pieces of fabric that had fallen off onto the floor. 

Alright. 

Wang Xi took a deep, calming breath, reached up to touch - yes, his throat was still covered, cutting half his scent down. He still didn't show yet, and as long as he didn't let anyone too close, no one would notice his scent quite yet… 

He frowned when he realised he was wearing a _turtleneck_. 

He was pretty sure he hadn't been wearing Wu style clothing. 

Do _not_ panic, he told himself sternly, and reached down, refusing to let the slight awkwardness show, and his fingers found the hilt of his knife in his ankle holster. It was still _there._

What sort of person would swap his clothes, but leave him his weapons? 

He could feel his phone in his pocket, big, flat and solid. 

Leave him his phone, his knife - they wanted him to call Ziwei. They wanted to _expose_ Ziwei and get her vulnerable. 

The thought sent a chill down his back. 

No. That couldn't happen. He couldn't allow it to happen. 

The door opened. Wang Xi froze.

"Xi-ge? Are you in here?"

And then footsteps coming up - the arm of the couch blocked the immediate view and - 

He could smell _Alpha_.

So he waited, curled, where he was - and then the strange Alpha turned, saw him - "Xi-ge? Are you alright, we're wai--" 

And he _moved_. 

The Alpha only had time for his eyes to widen before Wang Xi had him pinned to the wall, knife at his throat, edge threatening to press into the soft flesh. 

"Who are you," Wang Xi snarled. 

The Alpha gulped, winced when the knife's keen edge scraped on skin. 

"X-xi-ge? Are you - " 

" _Answer_." 

"G-Gao Yang! Xiaoyang, Xi-ge what is wrong?" His voice had gone up, higher. 

"You call yourself _Lamb_?" Wang Xi said, almost a sneer. 

"That's my na-" 

"How dare you touch _my clothes_ ," Wang Xi growled, and the Alpha squeaked. 

"I - your - Xi-ge- I nev-" 

"Who do you work for?" He'd never been _Ge_ in his life, and yet this Lamb was trying to insult him? 

Or maybe his scent blockers were working well enough that the Lamb couldn't tell… but it didn't make sense, not if he had changed his _clothes_. 

"I - I'm not working yet, I'm in uni -- Prayner? Xi-g-ge…" 

And this close, he could see the Alpha's nostrils suddenly flare, his eyes widen, and his mouth drop open, unheeding of the knife. 

"X-xi ge? What happened to you, you're a -" 

His face _flushed_ and - the alpha's hands suddenly reached up, to grab at Wang Xi's sleeve - 

Wang Xi twisted his arm, turning that grip so he'd slam the Alpha's wrist to the wall, and all but jerked his knee up and _in_. 

If an Alpha got _hard_ , all the bigger and easier a target. 

The Alpha squeaked even higher. 

"Who the hell are you working for?" Wang Xi said, low and dangerous, turning his knife a little to trace a line under the soft tender part of Lamb's jaw. 

"Gurk-" Lamb all but gargled. "I- I don't know what you want to know, Xi-g-" 

Young, stubborn. An idiot perhaps? But someone who was so stubborn would be useful - and Wang Xi wasn't going to discount _youth_ , not when his own husband was an example of how age had absolutely no bearing on _danger_. 

"I have ways," Wang Xi said, very soft, very low, "of making you _talk_."

* * *

When Gao Yang had gone off to look for Xi-ge, Ayanga decided he'd follow. 

Not that he thought the kid would try to confess his crush on Wang Xi; the kid - like all of the others in Wang Xi's fanclub - knew perfectly well that Xi-ge was married and utterly unavailable. 

He, just like Lao Gong, though, were just completely oblivious to the existence of the boys who had _feelings_ for them. 

Especially since Xi-ge had looked like he hadn't had any good sleep the night before, and he looked a little more tired than usual - which meant he might be just a bit brusque. And then accidentally hurt the boy's feelings. 

He was coming up to the make-up room, when he heard Gao Yang say, "X-xi-ge?" and make a noise a little too high before he rounded the door edge. 

He had a flash of seeing Wang Xi too close - pinning? - Gao Yang up against the wall, before he was hit in the sinuses with something completely incongruous. 

Anxious _apple blossom_. 

"Xi-ge?" 

And Wang Xi suddenly whipped around - his other arm was _pinning_ Gao Yang's hand to the wall, Gao Yang's eyes were wide and his face far too red (oh kid, what did you _say_?) - 

" _Gazi_." 

Wang Xi's face looked - oddly relieved, and then he was taking in all the incongruous details, for all that he was wearing what Ayanga had last seen him wear, but his hair was longer, past his shoulders-- 

And he was holding a _knife_. 

Ayanga reacted _immediately_ , just ducking straight in to grab and _twist_ \- and maybe shake Wang Xi to see what the hell was going _on_ , because Wang Xi was extremely even tempered, even when yelling at Lao Gong at the top of his voice, and he'd never _ever_ drawn that knife in Ayanga's presence, almost like it was decorative as far as Ayanga knew but - 

Wang Xi let go of his knife, slammed his elbow into Ayanga's gut, _snatched it back with his other hand_ , and spun to jerk a knee into the _back_ of Ayanga's knee and Wang Xi had _never_ moved this fast, never, not even when he sparred with Lao Gong -- 

Ayanga just _barely_ managed catch his balance, duck the swipe of the knife - oh shit, what the - tried to grab Wang Xi's elbow and spin him against the couch - or the wall - but then - 

The scent hit him. 

Not just _apple blossom_ , which wasn't right, because Wang Xi's scent was _apple wood_ , not the _flower_ , he was an Alpha not an omega, but the exceedingly _sweet_ and richer undertones -- 

"Gazi-ge, that's not Xi-ge!" Gao Yang yelped rather uselessly. "He's --" 

"Shut _up_ ," the _pregnant_ omega snapped, and the knife suddenly flipped in his grip, and he was about to _throw_ it … at _Gao Yang_ and that tiny split in his attention was just enough for Ayanga to manage to snatch up a nearby jacket, god knew whose, and slap it into the knife, tangling it and binding it just enough that no one was going to _die._

"Who are you?!" Ayanga and Not Wang Xi yelled at each other. 

"-- pregnant," Gao Yang finished. 

"Please stay quiet," Ayanga said, not taking his eyes off the omega. "Just sit down and shut up, Gao Yang." 

"So you and Lamb are the same group," the omega said, and disappointment flashed across his face briefly, before his expression went flat. 

_Deadly_. 

"I think," Ayanga said, wondering when and how the fuck he was in a …. A _thing_. His own heart-rate was up and he was trying not to shriek about the fact that in that tight wad of fabric he was clutching for dear life was a real pointy, sharp knife. 

Someone who used a knife like this omega did, would _not_ be playing with blunt knives. 

"I think you might be… mistaken," Ayanga said. He switched to as polite a register as he could. "Da-jie. Are you… perhaps lost? This is backstage." 

"Of course it is," the omega said, and his gaze cut down to Ayanga's knee, and Ayanga tried not to look like he was bracing for a really strong kick to the side of the knee cap. 

He'd put the omega down if he had to, but he really didn't want to - not when he was _pregnant_. 

(But Gao Yang was here, and if the omega remembered Gao Yang was there, and Gao Yang couldn't fight to save his life, and …) 

" _Where_ is this?" the omega demanded. 

"The backstage of the - if you're looking for the producers, you might have to come back later, it's late," Ayanga said, wishing he could sort of gesture for Gao Yang to just leave somehow. Crawl out? Maybe??? 

The omega made an impatient noise. 

"You fight like military, and answer _just_ like it," the omega said, and it wasn't derogatory, not _exactly_. "Smart, putting one who looks just like you here." 

"Um, and Da-jie doesn't fight like the military?" Ayanga said. He fought like if Ayanga wasn't fast enough, he'd get a knife in the ribs. "What am I supposed to say, Da-jie? It's the Meixihu Centre? In Changsha?" 

The omega's eyes widened. 

"I'm in Wu." 

"Yes?" Ayanga said. "May I ask Da-jie's name?" 

"You may not," the omega said. 

"Alright," Ayanga said, because this was a stalemate, and normally he'd just … he'd ask…. Someone, maybe even Wang Xi what he ought to do now, now that the adrenaline of the fight was starting to ebb, but the tension wasn't, and he was very much aware that the omega might well have another half dozen knives and he was going to get stabbed or maybe his bits dislocated if he didn't figure out a way to calm down the omega and get him… elsewhere. 

Was there a way to break the tension here? That didn't involve Gao Yang opening his mouth? 

"Niangzi! Have you found Xi-ge?! Is he making random babies cry, if so you owe me --" 

Yunlong barged in, stopped two steps into the room. "... Niangzi, why are you playing tug-of-war with Xi-ge using your jacket?"

Ayanga blinked down. Oh. "Is it my jacket?" 

"Why does Gao Yang look like he's about to pee himself?" Yunlong said, and then squinted even harder. "Is Xi-ge's Ziwei around?" 

"... She isn't," Ayanga said, confused but then - "No, Lao Gong get out-" 

And his husband just stepped closer. "Why do I smell her then?" 

"Very clever acting," the omega said, suddenly, _tightly_. "That's the most convincing impersonation I've seen of Zheng Yunlong. And I've seen a few." 

Yunlong opened his mouth. ".... _why_ do you smell of flowers and your Ziwei, Xi-ge?" Yunlong said. 

"That's not Xi-ge," Gao Yang said, because children didn't know how to follow instructions, oh _no_ \- and the omega's free hand moved and Ayanga didn't wait to find out if the omega had MORE knives hidden _somewhere_ , just shoved _forward_ , rolling the omega down to the ground at once so that there wouldn't be actual bloodshed. 

The omega, surprisingly (or not so surprisingly, considering his.. condition) curled immediately into a ball, offering him as little surface area as possible, lashing out Ayanga's face with a big black flat - 

Ayanga grabbed the omega's wrist, and twisted, shoved hard enough that it went skittering onto the floor towards Yunlong's feet, trying to grapple and pin his hands down to the floor - 

Oh. 

It was a phone, not a knife. 

"Si Fu-ren!" Yunlong yelled into the phone because his husband still wasn't _leaving_ the room? What the hell was he doing?! 

The omega went absolutely _still_. 

"Niang, don't _answer_ ," the omega yelled. "This is unsecure!" 

".... Niang," Ayanga said. 

"... Si Fu-ren, I think we have your in-law here," Yunlong said. 

"Uh," Gao Yang said. "Question." 

"No," Ayanga said. " _Shush_ , Gao Yang." 

"That is a little lacking in detail, Long'er," the phone - Si Fu-ren - said. Oh, So Lao Gong did know what he was doing. Si Fu-ren would deal with it, Ayanga thought with relief. 

"Gazi-ge, you're sitting on pregnant Xi-ge," Gao Yang said. 

Gao Yang _really_ didn't know when to be quiet, Ayanga thought, and then got a nerve strike to the thigh. 

Ayanga yelped, rocked a little, but just managed to not get bucked off. 

"Well that's a little more helpful," Si Fu-ren said, and it was because Ayanga was staring at the omega, he could see the shift of emotions on his face -- a flash of terror, frantic desperation, the shift in his body before - 

"Please don't struggle, you would hurt yourself and the -- you know," Ayanga said, almost gesturing, but just managed not to, at the same time. 

"Ga-ga. Let him up," Si Fu-ren said. 

"But he'd _shank_ Gao Yang," Ayanga protested. 

"Xifu'r," Si Fu-ren said, and the omega went still. Didn't _relax_ but his eyes cut to the source of Si Fu-ren's voice. 

In-law. Gao Yang was going to have so many questions later, but they'd figure it out. 

"Ga-ga, let Xifu'r up," Si Fu-ren said, his tone mild and patient, and Ayanga let go of the omega, hurriedly getting to his feet and held out a hand to help him up. 

It didn't do to let Si Fu-ren repeat himself a second time.

The omega took Ayanga's hand, with a grace that was way more deadly than Xi-ge's. Alright, if it was Xi-ge's omega _twin_ it'd make a lot more sense, but something was off. Ayanga had never met any of Xi-ge's siblings though he'd mentioned them sometimes, and he was very sure that Ziwei was not married. And the 'xi' Si Fu-ren was using was a tone off from the usual pun he used to talk to Wang Xi - he was using the term in-law _seriously_ , not as the gentle nickname. 

(If Xi-ge's Ziwei was married to anyone, it'd be to _Xi-ge_ , not…) 

"Niang," the omega said, and held out his hand to the phone. Yunlong gingerly picked it back up, and dropped it into the omega's hand. "Niang, I have no idea how secure this line is." 

"It's secure," Si Fu-ren said. "I believe you'd be safer with me; Ga-ga can -" 

"I don't trust that Alpha," the omega said, and it would have made Ayanga wilt a little more, to hear Xi-ge's voice say so so bluntly, but he knew the answer: an omega who was pregnant, incredibly vulnerable… he'd just _fought_ said omega. 

Granted it was to make sure everyone's blood stayed inside their bodies but. 

"Long'er can escort you," Si Fu-ren said. "Please do not hurt Long'er either." 

"Si Fu-ren," Yunlong said, gaze cutting to Ayanga, then to the phone, looking nothing more like a wilted puppy. The omega looked over Yunlong, _clearly_ measuring his fighting ability and threat levels and coming up with 'as dangerous as a bag of flour'. Nodded sharply. 

"Ga-ga you can bring the boy along too," Si Fu-ren said, which they all knew meant that Ayanga was to stay a very safe distance ahead of the other two because the omega didn't _trust_ Ayanga. 

The omega relaxed further - he'd clearly not been happy at the fact that Gao Yang knew his … weak spot, his vulnerability (Ziwei's child? Oh fuck, Ayanga's brain skittered away from _that_ ), and had been willing to silence him. 

Ayanga cut his gaze to the boy - he was still wide-eyed and hadn't moved from his spot against the wall. Well, at least there went that crush? 

"Yes Si-furen," Ayanga said. 

"Give me back my knife," the omega said. 

"Da-jie," Ayanga said, carefully picking up that jacket that was probably now shredded and exceptionally avant garde. "I… don't want you to stab Lao - my - Da Long." 

"I wouldn't stab him," the omega said. "He would cry from a cutting remark." 

Both Ayanga and Yunlong had to admit that it was true enough. 

"Give me my knife," the omega said, low and imperious, until Ayanga handed it to him hilt first. "Now you both get out," the omega said. "The Alpha hormones are giving me a headache." 

Three Alphas in the same room, Ayanga realised abruptly, three _strange_ Alphas, probably wasn't great for the omega's feeling of safety. That tightness in the omega's voice wasn't _just_ murder. 

Ayanga reached out and grabbed Gao Yang by the shoulder, propelled the younger Alpha out in front of him; he could _still_ feel the omega's gaze on him. The back of his shoulders itched.

"Why didn't you just run," Ayanga hissed to Gao Yang, as soon as he was sure that they were … well a safe distance ahead of the omega - if he glanced back, he could see his husband step out of the room, looking just that bit nervous, the omega following. 

"Xi-ge as an omega is _so hot_ ," Gao Yang said. 

"... you're hopeless," Ayanga said.

* * *

Wang Xi was _not_ used to waking up in strange places - least of all in a bedroom he most definitely had not gone to bed in. 

Especially since the last he remembered had been heading back to go pick up his jacket from the backroom. 

And now he was in a bedroom that smelled very much like Ziwei, but it took him staring around before he placed it as one of the rooms in Gazi and Da Long's house, somehow refurnished in exactly what he expected out of Ziwei's taste. 

And covered all _over_ with her scent. 

He would be comforted by that except for how he had been about to go rehearse with the Super Vocal babies? What the hell was Ziwei up to? 

He walked out of the room, frowning at the fact that he was now wearing his… hanfu that he normally wore - no this wasn't his _usual_ hanfu; the ties were higher than usual? What - 

He shoved open the door, growling. 

"Ziwei? What on earth are you playing at?" he said, "Swapping out my clothes?!" 

Ziwei was sitting on a couch that he didn't recognise, in a large sitting room, but Ziwei was Ziwei, she'd always done the impossible. 

"Xi'er," she said, looking up, "About time you woke u--" 

She stopped, staring - 

Wang Xi just scowled at her. "I'm supposed to be in Changsha, you can't just yank me out of Super Vocal just because you don't like not having me at your beck and call - you could have dropped me a chat --" 

" _Changsha_?" and Ziwei was growling, getting up, and there was a certain note under her voice. 

Odd. 

_Dangerous_. 

Wang Xi blinked. 

"Who _are_ you?" Ziwei said, and there was _a knife_ under her voice, in that growl, and Wang Xi took a step back, automatically. 

The weird thing was she'd never directed that tone to _him_. It was like seeing someone else with Ziwei's face. 

"What do you mean?" Wang Xi said. 

She took another step towards him, all leonine grace and silence on the carpet and Wang Xi _witnessed_ that aura before - because Ziwei was nothing but her _father_ in many, many ways. Except now there was - 

Ziwei was right UP at him, catching his wrists in one hand, shoving him back so fast and hard he was suddenly up against a wall, barely realising it until air was almost completely driven out of his lungs with the force of it. 

"Hey, get _off_ ," Wang Xi said because how _dare_ she come up so close, touch him like this without permission -- 

She didn't even respond to that, leaning in and taking a harsh, long, _deliberate_ inhale. 

"Clever," she said. "You look like him, and even got the scent _almost_ right." 

"Ziwei, let go _right now_ ," Wang Xi snapped, putting as much of demand and _scold_ as he could. 

"You have no right to call me that," Ziwei snarled. 

"The hell, Ziwei?" 

"Say that once more and I'll cut your tongue out," Zi- Cao Jie said, and Wang Xi blinked, again, stunned. 

All that menace, suddenly targeted at _him._

He jerked, trying to break _free_ , get a breath - because the world was fucking _wrong_. 

The world had _constants_ \- the sun rose in the east, night followed day, and Ziwei had always - 

Had _never_ looked at him like that.

Like an _enemy_. 

Dangerous and vicious and like she was going to annihilate him - not even her enemies - she didn't have enemies, she had opponents, like obstacles, because that's not what they did, not in Wei. 

But - 

She tightened her grip and shoved - all but slamming him against the wall, and all ability to _fight_ went out the window. 

"Where is my _wife_ ," Ziwei said, and the harmonics all below that tone was - 

"What on earth are you talking about, Ziwei?" Wang Xi managed. 

Hand on his fingers now, suddenly. "I won't ask again," Cao Jie said. 

Oh shit. 

Oh _shit_ , she was going to kill him. 

Wang Xi tried to kick at her, but he'd really not fought since he was fifteen - the flailing at Yunlong didn't count, and he most definitely wasn't a match for an Alpha in a mate-frenzy.

 _"Ziwei!_ Step back _at once_!"

A voice like a whip crack, snapping through the air hard enough it had Ziwei jolting in place, almost. 

If her grip had been at the right place and angle, she'd have dislocated Wang Xi's index finger.

"Niang," Ziwei snarled, but thank everyone, thank _Si Fu-ren_ , that Ziwei had spent her entire life learning to listen to her mother's _tone_ , because she took a step back, and _didn't_ murder Wang Xi on the way. "This Alpha took my _wife_." 

"Si Fu-ren," Wang Xi managed, "Something's wrong with Ziwei, she's hallucinating--" 

"Not Niang, Xifu'r?" Si Fu-ren said, thoughtfully, and that incandescent anger in Si Fu-ren's voice toned down several notches.

And Wang Xi was very _very_ attuned to the exact intonation of Mandarin, having had to overcome his Dongbei 'bad habits'. 

Si Fu-ren wasn't using that usual pun off his own name's Xi, but a different Xi. The Xi for _in-law_. 

Wang Xi flinched back against the wall. What on earth was --

"Ziwei," Si Fu-ren said, "Leave the terrified man alone." 

" _Niang!_ " 

"Killing him won't bring your xifu'r back," Si Fu-ren said. "Use the brain your father gave you - didn't you just say that Ziwen had been visiting one of Zishu's Favourites' labs?" 

"Have they _broken_ time and space _again_?" Ziwei exclaimed and sped straight out of the room. 

"Well," Si Fu-ren said, "there goes her logic. If you were truly an impersonator intent on insinuating your way into her family, leaving me here with you would hardly be safe." 

"I have no intention of - impersonate her _what_ , her wife? I'm an _Alpha_." Wang Xi's heart-rate would eventually slow down. 

He could _still_ feel Ziwei's murderous _intent_ in the air - he took careful, measured breaths, and tried not to take in _her_ scent. 

He had been _spoilt_ , taken her indulgence for granted, and never realised how much he relied on it as a stable pillar and foundation of his universe. 

"Being an Alpha would make no difference as to whether you can be her wife," Si Fu-ren said, and his wry tone was dry as paper. "The only difference would be you being unable to bear her a child." 

"-- Of course that makes no difference socially and legally, since Gazi and Long'er --" Wang Xi's brain stalled on. " _Child_?" he managed to choke. 

"If you were a spy," Si Fu-ren said, almost philosophically, but his gaze was very, very sharp, "you make a poorly informed one." 

"I'm not a _spy_ ," Wang Xi choked because what the _hell_. 

"And here I thought we could be assured that our measures in keeping my daughter's wife secret was so successful that no one even guessed he was an omega," Si Fu-ren said. 

"Telling me all this when I _could_ be a spy, and now know that Zi- your daughter's wife _was_ an omega is hardly _secure_ ," Wang Xi managed. 

"Because I already know what you are," Si Fu-ren said. He flicked his hand a moment, and one of the many people who hung around Si Fu-ren materialized a file for him. He flicked it open to take a look. 

"And what am I?" 

"My counterpart's agent within the Entertainment Industry. Pity we can't keep you here," Si Fu-ren said, "It would be useful to give my Long'er some back-up." 

"... _Zheng Yunlong_ is your agent?"

Si Fu-ren's smile was only obvious by the shifting of his veil. 

"Once you've recovered," Si Fu-ren said, "We should head back to the labs. Let's hope _your_ counterpart hasn't killed anyone."

* * *

Ziwei reacting like he was encroaching on her territory, like he'd threatened her … mate and family was… unsurprising. 

Especially since once he got his bearings a little more, he realised that this was not just Gazi and Da Long's house - but Ziwei and Si Fu-ren's scents were far more prominent. Ground-in and worn in, like they actually _lived_ here. 

And the apple-blossom scent that was almost like his own, but just slightly different enough to unsettle him. 

No. He couldn't think about being _unsettled_. This was clearly not _his_ territory. This was… strange, unknown territory, he had not enough information to even know whether he should be treating this like enemy territory. 

But there was _a_ Si Fu-ren. And the worlds could change, literally, but Si Fu-ren was _unshakeable_ , a _constant_. 

(there could be no world without Si Fu-ren. Here, there was Si Fu-ren, therefore Wei was still the same. The details didn't matter.) 

"So," he said, once he was sure he wasn't going to fall over, that his legs could hold him up, "I am your… my counterpart is an omega and your daughter-in-law." 

Si Fu-ren was watching him. His usual place was at Si Fu-ren's side, to answer to him and get things done. But if Zheng Yunlong - Da Long, the shameless shu slut??? - was Si Fu-ren's … agent, rather than himself -- 

"Where _is_ Da L- Zheng Yunlong?" he said. "Shouldn't he be dealing with… me? Except… no wait. He cannot be, he'd be in Changsha." 

"Now why would Long'er be in Changsha," Si Fu-ren said. 

And there was something -- Si Fu-ren, despite the fact that he'd removed Ziwei from the room, sent his own daughter off, wasn't relaxing. 

Wang Xi wasn't arrogant enough to think he knew Si Fu-ren the best - of all of them, it was Gazi who was closest to Si Fu-ren, close enough to pick up and use Si Fu-ren's habits, and to be granted Si Fu-ren's personal tutelage in traditional Beijing opera. 

But Wang Xi had been the one who had been entrusted with Gazi and Da Long's care in Changsha -- the only one of Ziwei's that Si Fu-ren trusted would be able to keep an eye on his son and son-in-law. 

"Who else would be watching Gazi in Changsha?" 

And there was the… tiniest shift in Si Fu-ren's expression. Wang Xi _did_ work with Si Fu-ren long and often enough to be able to read him even with the veil. 

That wasn't an attempt to hide knowledge, just a tiny tilt of surprise. 

And Wang Xi could _see_ that deliberation before Si Fu-ren allowed him to read it more fully. 

"It does make sense that you would be the one to watch my Ga-ga," Si Fu-ren said, and for all that his tone was conversational, it was also very _deliberate_. Careful and considered. "Since you are the one who is my counterpart's agent." 

But, Wang Xi could tell - in _this_ world, he was not an Alpha, but judging from the scent that was just different enough from his own to discomfit himself, an _omega_. 

And omegas were _not_ sent out as representatives like Gazi, least of all as agents expected to _keep an eye_ on said representative. 

_but_... 

"Is there no Super Vocal?" Wang Xi said, and he didn't try to keep his surprise from his voice. 

"A very clever pun," Si Fu-ren said, and it took Wang Xi a moment to remember that yes, that was _exactly_ their thoughts when they'd heard the name of that variety show, which had been a play of the common saying 深入人心, to be touched deeply - and evoking the effect of bel canto and musical singing by calling it A Voice that reaches into the heart -- 声入人心. 

It'd been a couple weeks already, and he had already gotten used to it, like that term had always been part of Mandarin's lexicon. 

"So… there's no attempt from Wei to espouse its values a little?" Wang Xi said, watching Si fu-ren watch _him_.

"And why would we do that?" Si Fu-ren's tone was light but neutral. 

"The effects of Wu's culture and values are irritating, even and especially on its own people," Wang Xi said. "I myself don't go very often to Wu, other than my own concerts but the Westernization is jarring." 

"Now that," Si Fu-ren said, mild as gossamer, but his eyes were sharp, "is a rather far-fetched idea, isn't it. Perhaps in a year or two." 

"Isn't it the best time now?" Wang Xi said, trying to think of what other shows that Wu could have come up with to send Ayanga on. He _had_ thought that the proposal of Super Vocal might have been … suggested, by certain parties ~~read: Si Fu-ren himself~~ but that he hadn't thought it necessary here? What changed? 

"Why would it be the best time now?" 

"It is the anniversary of Wei's re-opening," Wang Xi said. 

"That's next year," Si Fu-ren said. 

" _SHA_ ," Wang Xi blurted. 

Si Fu-ren blinked. "Ah," he said. "So it looks like you're from the future. How _interesting_." 

Then he gestured - and Wang Xi automatically found a chair to sit, before he realised he'd obeyed instinctively. Si Fu-ren's gestures were _always_ the same. He'd consider this a comforting constant… _later_. 

"Tell me more about this Super Vocal," Si Fu-ren said.

"The world wouldn't end if I did?" Wang Xi said. 

"I already have a few thoughts," Si Fu-ren said, and sitting in the same couch Ziwei had vacated and _almost_ held out a hand. They both went still for a moment - it was that gesture that Si Fu-ren would just, expect a cup of tea t o be placed in his hand. 

_Wang Xi_ would have handed him tea. 

Si Fu-ren turned that motion into a graceful turn of his wrist, flicking his sleeve more neatly over his lap before withdrawing his ever present fan from his sash. 

"I am merely curious." 

In other words, Si Fu-ren already _had_ made a decision, Wang Xi thought, and wasn't going to change his mind. And the title of Super Vocal just… wasn't _his_ suggestion. 

"Super Vocal is a show about singing," Wang Xi said, which both of them knew - because why else would Gazi be on it? Ayanga was no longer allowed to _dance_ , and his vocation was not in _acting_. "Specifically, bel canto." 

"Mmm. Western genres," Si Fu-ren murmured. 

"Da Long, Gazi and myself are trained in Western genres," Wang Xi said. "And that's what the Wu audience is receptive to." 

"Certainly your voice is uniquely suited to Western genres." 

"Do I even sing in this world?" Wang Xi asked. "An omega from my background -" 

Si Fu-ren smiled under his veil. " _Would_ you, if you were an omega, sing professionally?" 

Wang Xi almost said _of course_ he would. He hadn't saved for opera school for _nothing_.

But if he was an _omega_ \- and the oldest omega child of all his siblings… 

He wasn't entirely sure he would have made the same choice he had. 

Especially since his omega counterpart had _married_ Ziwei. The fact that he was an omega would have changed the weighting of his choices _significantly_. 

(What made him choose to agree to be Ziwei's? If he had had a singing career then - he had to have chosen to give it up, especially since he _knew_ how much his own work on Ziwei's behalf had to be in the shadows.) 

"Not if I am Ziwei's wife," he said, after a moment. "I wouldn't--" 

"Risk Ziwei?" Si Fu-ren said. Wang Xi's gaze snapped to Si Fu-ren's. 

"Her work is _important_." 

Si Fu-ren's smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. "As is your career, is it not, Xi'er." 

"I had," Wang Xi said, and it was… this was not his world, this was not _his_ Si Fu-ren, so in this sense, it was alright to say, "spent a lot of time and effort to become what I am. Sacrificing it in order to become Ziwei's spouse would not be worth the benefits I already afford her."

"The key word," Si Fu-ren said, "is _'spent'._ " 

And for a long moment, Wang Xi just stared at him, a little perplexed, wondering what he _meant_ , until he remembered. 

In his teens, he had sat down and thought about the costs of university, while staring at the costs of the private opera lessons he had scrimped and saved for. Every single renminbi he had - and would - spend for such lessons, and then for university, if he continued in his current line of work was the profits that should be returned to the families his people protected. 

His gang had been small. Extremely small, but it was enough for their families. But he was still young - how long could he sustain it?

He wouldn't have the ability to expand it further, not if he wanted to go to university - and a university degree had a much higher earning power eventually - because of the _connections_ he'd be able to forge.

So he had made the choice to cut his ties from the gangs of Yingkou, that the money he earned for himself and his family would allow him to go to university, and the ties he forged _there_ would allow him to carve out a career that would sustain him and his family, and he'd be able to put back larger contributions to his community. 

But, Wang Xi realised, Alphas and omegas thought _differently_. They had different priorities - and it must have meant that _this_ world's Wang Xi, his omega counterpart, had chosen community over university. Yingkou over _self_. 

And thus… his omega counterpart had had no singing career to sacrifice to be Ziwei's, because he'd already sacrificed it for Yingkou.

"Well," Si Fu-ren said, "I see that this has been enlightening for you. But I don't think my daughter-in-law perceives it as a _sacrifice_." 

He snapped his fan open with a sharp enough crack of wood and paper that Wang Xi jolted. "Just different priorities."

* * *

As soon as Wang Xi stepped back across the threshold, leaving the other Si Fu-ren behind, the first thing he saw - and scented - was his husband, and he finally, _finally_ could feel that tense knot in his shoulders relax. 

"Ziwei, it's actually you- I missed -- _oof!_ " 

"Did anyone touch you? Did you get hurt? Why is there a strange alpha scent all over you? _Who_ dared to touch you!?" 

His husband didn't even give him a chance to find a _chair_. 

"Leave - sto- argh Ziwei, it was just some lamb of an Alpha child, he's just an idiot, but Gazi stopped me from sha- wait, this is still the _lab_ , Zi _wei_ can't we have a private room at least!?"

* * *

"I need a _lot_ of alcohol," Xi-ge declared, when he stumbled back into Si Fu-ren's room, (and the rather excitable _omega_ had left) and Ayanga was _glad_ no one was going to get shanked.

"Okay?" Ayanga said, "your. Um. Performance -" 

"I need to make a phone call _first_ ," Xi-ge said, and stalked off to the nearest balcony. 

For a moment Ayanga thought that he was going to call Ziwei to yell at her, which was what he kept.. Doing anyway. 

"... shut up Ziwei," Xi-ge said, but his tone was so _fond_ and relieved, that Ayanga had to collect up his husband and vacate Si Fu-ren's room. 

Si Fu-ren will explain later. 

Or not. 

"You know," Gao Yang said, in a whisper to Yunlong, "I can't tell which is hotter, Alpha or omega Xi-ge." 

"You are so _incredibly_ fortunate you're _young_ , Xiao Yang," Yunlong said, giving Ayanga a look begging to be removed from the conversation. 

Ayanga shrugged, helpless. 

_Teenagers._

* * *

OMAKE 

"Xi'er looks _very_ good in turtlenecks," his husband said, nuzzling at his throat. 

"It would almost be believable if you actually hadn't shredded it," Wang Xi said drily. Paused. "... this isn't _my_ turtleneck!" 

"Good thing I shredded it then," Ziwei said smugly.

* * *

"So," Ayanga said, awkwardly sidling up to Wang Xi - awkward because he was eying where Wang Xi normally kept his knife holster, and also because Da Long was basically plastered to Ayanga's other side. 

Why would he be feeling needy, Wang Xi had no idea, it wasn't like _he_ was the one who'd ended up on the other side, nor apparently threatened by being stabbed full of holes. 

"So what," Wang Xi said, as flatly as he could, picking up his phone and swiping it open. 

"So since Xi-ge is married to … Ziwei," Ayanga said, "Does that make Little Mango Zi--" 

Wang Xi elbowed him sharply - the silk sleeves meant he could do it _really_ hard too. 

Ayanga made a noise like a deflating balloon. 

"She looks _exactly_ like my wife," Wang Xi snapped, and all but stabbed open his phone's photo gallery as proof. "See--?" 

"... that looks a lot like Xi-ge's Ziwei," da Long said, almost diplomatically.

Wang Xi swiped through the photos, harder, faster. Then flipped open the contacts. 

This wasn't his phone. 

"WHERE ARE MY LITTLE MANGO'S PHOTOS!"

* * *

"Why are you looking up hanfu?" Cai Chengyu said. Still puzzled as anything. 

"Xi-ge looks _so_ good in hanfu," Gao Yang sighed. Paused. "Why are you looking - oy, you're not allowed in the fan club!" 

"But they are!" Cai Cai complained, pointing at Fang Shujian, Zhang Chao and Li Xiangzhe. "It's the Wei Alpha Admiration Club! Why can't I be here too?" 

"Because I want to _rail_ Xi-ge into the nearest wall, and you're already their favourite son and heir," Gao Yang snapped and shoved Cai Cai out of the room even as he wailed about unfairness 

"You know," Zhang Chao said, face in his hands when Gao Yang returned, "it's the _appreciation_ club, you're just -" 

"Xi-ge is _really_ hot, no matter what he wears," Gao Yang said, "But he'd look even hotter in hanfu." 

"Why did we invite him," Shujian muttered to Zhang Chao. 

"He's the only one besides Jia-ge who can shove Cai Cai out the room, and Jia-ge wants nothing to do with the fanclub," Zhang Chao responded. 

"-- have any of you ever wondered what they'd be like as omegas?" Gao Yang said dreamily. 

Li Xiangzhe edged away from him .

END

**Author's Note:**

> FINE, I'M DONE and this is not crack even though i wanted it to be crack and instead there's this. I am *crying*. 
> 
> Unfaaaair. 
> 
> But anyway. 
> 
> Yes, I'm keeping this actually somewhat canon to both … storylines, without bothering to explain the mechanism of exchange. 
> 
> Wang Xi is one of my favourites - and also the one to whom this happening would be the most "well, why not".
> 
> It is canon because Wang Xi never actually talks about this to _any other_ POV character, not even n his own POV because its completely irrelevant to anything at hand. 
> 
> Thus. 
> 
> At least I hope you are entertained for Chinese New Year.
> 
> * * *
> 
> In case anyone doesn't remember: 
> 
> In normal Wei world, Si Fu-ren calls Wang Xi Xi-fu'r - a pun on Xi, which in Wang Xi's name is the first tone Xi (晰妇儿). In the omega!WX universe, Si Fu-ren calls Wang Xi by his actual 'title/role' in the family, which is xifu'r, 媳妇儿, the xi in that is the second tone. 
> 
> As an omega, WX has always been addressed with 'female' pronouns, such as Jie (姐), like by his siblings and his gang. 
> 
> When you're trying to be polite in Chinese society, especially up in the northern parts (ie in Wei) you generally use familial terms - once Ayanga realised this was _not_ his Alpha friend Wang Xi , he stopped calling him Xi-ge, and called him Da-jie, because this is a pregnant omega. And not obviously younger than him, and not hugely older than him either. To avoid offending him further (which, uh, a little late but) Ayanga called him Da-jie (大姐), because he can't call him mei (妹), or aunty (in the south that's usually 阿姨 can't remember what it's commonly used in the north). Almost definitely can't call him 小姐, (xiao jie) because I'm pretty sure it's practically an insult in the north? Possibly?
> 
> * * *
> 
> And yes okay Gao Yang is not actually a teeenager. He's 22 in 2018, which is more or less when this fic takes place. 
> 
> But he is still very young.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Ziwen: 子文 aka Cao Zhang. The Alpha Cao in charge of the military. _the_ Gay General Cao. 3rd Child/son of Cao Cao.
> 
> Zishu: 子舒 aka Cao Chong. The only omega child of Cao Cao's. Is _the_ Ministry of Health of Wei, his favourites include all sorts of scientists, researchers and academics. 
> 
> The military and research have a Good Relationship, just saying.
> 
> Si Fu-ren has the right to use those nicknames because he is a generation older than them and is Family. 
> 
> Li Xiangzhe: the only other bass in Super Vocal - demanded to sing all and any of Wang Xi's songs because "he gives me hope for all basses." Has a tremendous crush on WX. WX does not notice.
> 
> Fang Shujian: one of the 'adopted' supervocal babies of Gazi and Yunlong. Beta boy. all but fell over himself to massage Ayanga's back during the first or second episode when he mentioned how sore his back was getting. Has a Tremendous Crush on Ayanga. Ayanga does not notice. 
> 
> Zhang Chao: one of the 'adopted' supervocal babies of Gazi and Yunlong. Alpha boy. got extremely agitated when there came a time for ZYL to choose a partner for the 'sing solo, duet, or trio" challenge, and threw a fit at CCY so ZYL decided to take him as a duet partner. has a tremendous crush on ZYL. ZYL does not notice. 
> 
> Gao Yang: once sang a duet with WX "She's so pretty". Spent a lot of time staring at WX through out the song. Ends up in CCY's team by episode 8. has a tremendous... well, crush is one way of saying it... on WX. WX does not notice.


End file.
